Inadequate screening of potential priests, not celibacy or homosexuality, is to blame for the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, according to a blue-ribbon panel formed by the nation's Catholic bishops. The findings of the 12-member National Review Board were released late last month along with the first-ever report on the scope of sexual abuse of minors in the church. "Dioceses and [religious] orders simply did not screen candidates for the priesthood properly," said Bob Bennett, the Washington attorney and board member who spearheaded the report. "As a result, many dysfunctional and psychosexually immature men were admitted into seminaries and ordained in the priesthood."

Inadequate screening of potential priests, not celibacy or homosexuality, is to blame for the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, according to a blue-ribbon panel formed by the nation's Catholic bishops. The findings of the 12-member National Review Board were released late last month along with the first-ever report on the scope of sexual abuse of minors in the church.

"Dioceses and [religious] orders simply did not screen candidates for the priesthood properly," said Bob Bennett, the Washington attorney and board member who spearheaded the report. "As a result, many dysfunctional and psychosexually immature men were admitted into seminaries and ordained in the priesthood."

Bennett said celibacy has become an "albatross" for some priests and needs further discussion--something church leaders have resisted.

The board's 145-page report probed the "causes and contexts" of the scandal, which involved 4,392 accused priests, 10,667 victims and a cost of at least $657 million that was tallied in a companion report by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The report found that 80 percent of the abuse was "homosexual in nature," but the board said an inability to remain chaste--not homosexuality--was a more direct cause of sexual abuse among clergy. "There is no doubt there are many outstanding priests of homosexual orientation who live chaste and celibate lives," Bennett said. "Whether they are capable of living the celibate life is the paramount consideration. Sexual orientation should not be a requirement, one way or the other. Priests can be homosexual, but they must be celibate."

Louis Schlesinger, a professor at John Jay College and board expert in sexually motivated antisocial acts, was less quick to link homosexuality to the abuse of children. "If heterosexual male priests are struggling with their natural sexual desires, they don't say 'I can't have a woman, I'll get a child.' They aren't going to switch their sexual preferences," he said. "Also, it's 1,000 times easier to get an adult man to have sex with you. It's a grooming process to get a child to have sex. The issue is not if they're gay, the issue is pedophilia and ephebophilia [attraction to adolescent sex partners]."

But Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee, who heads the bishops' committee on priestly life and ministry, said more "up-front screening" is needed because gay seminarians and priests face "added temptations" in trying to live a chaste and celibate life. "There are pressing questions, and perhaps more urgent scrutiny, that needs to be given to a candidate who has homosexual inclinations," said Dolan, a former rector of the flagship American seminary in Rome. Dolan cautioned, however, that it is "completely absurd" to automatically link gay priests with pedophilia. The majority of gay priests, he said, are "faithful, celibate, chaste men."

The board said the sex abuse crisis was worsened by bishops who covered up abuse allegations and whose fear of scandal was greater than their concern for victims. "Many breached their responsibilities as shepherds of the flock, and put their heads in the sand," Bennett said. "They did not understand the broad epidemic nature of the problem. Some placed the interests of the accused priests above those of the victims."

Bennett said fear of litigation also contributed to the crisis, with many bishops cloaking allegations in secrecy rather than report a priest to law enforcement.--RNS

COPYRIGHT 2004 The Christian Century Foundation COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

When this story was posted in February 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in dangerWhen the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject.

PC establishes awards for top VolunteersGaddi H. Vasquez has established the Kennedy Service Awards to honor the hard work and service of two current Peace Corps Volunteers, two returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and two Peace Corps staff members. The award to currently serving volunteers will be based on a demonstration of impact, sustainability, creativity, and catalytic effect. Submit your nominations by December 9.

Peace Corps at highest Census in 30 yearsCongratulations to the Peace Corps for the highest number of volunteers in 30 years with 7,810 volunteers serving in 71 posts across the globe. Of course, the President's proposal to double the Peace Corps to 15,000 volunteers made in his State of the Union Address in 2002 is now a long forgotten dream. With deficits in federal spending stretching far off into the future, any substantive increase in the number of volunteers will have to wait for new approaches to funding and for a new administration. Choose your candidate and start working for him or her now.

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The Peace Corps LibraryPeace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today.

Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.

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Story Source: Christian Century

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